Quintessence
by Mammon-BZ
Summary: There are only the two of us, trapped in an endless chase to fulfill our final promise, lured by the light that slips like sand through our fingertips. This battle is our submission to them. A desperate plea, for it all to end. Yes, even if I have to take his life, I want it to end. My sanity slips slowly. Sasuke's POV.


**Quintessence**

**By Mammonbz**

I cannot remember exactly when it is that I see him again. Eternity since I left him. Eternity since we made that promise. Eternity since the war had ended.

How had both of us survived this long? In this desolate landscape that borders between reality and illusion. Where there are only the footprints left by two. Where the winds howl and batter the bloodied Earth. Where the sun frowns upon us and the moon hides his face. There are only the two of us, trapped in an endless chase to fulfill our final promise, lured by the light that slips like sand through our fingertips.

The two of us.

Had it not always been that way? The two souls who have been condemned to a life of mindless agony. The chosen two. The opposites. Yin and yang. Shadow and light. Black and white.

Sasuke and Naruto.

We will always be together, and yet, we will never be together. Even in death, when one of us will be given the light we have spent our existence chasing and the other forced into the darkest pits of hell and eternal torture.

His eyes bore through me. Hardened, determined, emotionless blue chips of ice. The years had not been kind to him. Gone is the boy that lived through fire and hell to be acknowledged. Gone is the boy who will throw his soul away for the sake of his friends. The man who stands before me is a god who has lost everything but his own immortality. And I am the same.

This game of cat and mouse had gone on for far too long. Today, one of us dies.

"Sasuke." My name leaves his lips in a lyrical whisper, and I see the brief flash of desperation in those blue irises. And in that moment, my resolution grows weaker. I want to scream and curse at the Heavens. Why, why had they chosen _him _of all people to bear this intolerable burden? He who has given everything up to try to bring light to this world. Why him. Why Naruto.

There is a flash of light as his katana catches the final rays of sunlight. I steel myself for the inevitable. Drawing my own nodachi, I call upon the tempest. The sky overhead heeds my summon and begins to darken. The wind around us picks up as it stirs up clouds upon clouds of clouds of bloodied dust. Blood of a thousand years.

The rumble of thunder sounds overhead. His eyes meet my own again, sending a thrum through my battle-heightened senses.

I bend my legs and spring. Our swords clash in the center of the desolate landscape, a sharp sound that jars my arms. There is no warning given but a sharp wail as an arc of electricity lights the ground where he had been standing. I spring away to avoid the backlash, only to be hit in the back by a hard ball of roaring wind. I gasp as I crash unceremoniously into the hard ground, rolling away desperately to avoid the tip of his katana.

Flipping back into a guard, I waste no time swinging my sword around to lock his in a death grip. Electricity surges up my metal blade only to be countered by the wind barrier he constructs. As our elements collide, the ground around our feet erupts. We are thrown into the air. Twisting my torso, I aim a slice at his ribs. My blade slides in slightly before he grabs my wrist and flings my hand away. Midair, we engage in flurry of moves, rapid and smooth. We have known each other too long for it to be otherwise.

The moment our feet touch ground, we spring away from each other. Frustration, anger, thrill. A surge of feeling attacks my empty soul, draining me of even more determination. After all this time, this is when my emotions choose to return? My mind is in turmoil. I feel the sudden urge to collapse to the ground in hysterical laughter.

I look at the man standing silently opposite me. And I can see it, in his eyes, that he is the same. I do not want to fight the only person that ties me to this forsaken world. He is the same.

But we are nothing more than puppets, tied to our destinies with red ropes. Nothing we could ever _want_ would change that. He knows that too. And that is why we must see this battle through. This battle is our submission to _them. _A desperate plea, for it all to end. Yes, even if I have to take his life, I want it to end. My sanity slips slowly.

There is nothing to warn me but a slight shift of the air. My senses scream at me and I instinctively raise my arms to block his katana, pushing him backwards. Freeing my other hand, I shoot a bolt of lightning at his skull.

There is a flash of yellow as he disappears and I lose my balance. I feel his foot connecting with my stomach before I even see it. My carelessness had cost me. There is a flash of silver as his blade sweeps down and my side explodes with pain. Gritting my teeth, I force myself to land on my feet, dodging the double wind blades he sends after me. I sweep my black hair out of my eyes. I can see my blood dripping from his katana.

I do not know how much longer we continue our dance. We are gods, the two of us. We have lived for so long that the passing of time means little to us. And bit by bit, I am breaking. My resolution is leaving me. His blond hair, blue eyes and sun-kissed skin. They bring back memories from a lifetime ago. When we were innocent, not yet chosen as champions to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.

A girl with pink hair and green eyes. A cloaked man with eyes like mine. Memories from so long ago I cannot remember their names. But even so they cause an intangible despair to rise within me. I want it. I want that life back. I was a fool to have thrown it away.

Igniting my sword with black flames, I send a sharp jab towards his skull. He dodges, barely. Taking advantage of his momentary imbalance, I spin and execute a roundhouse kick. It connects with his chest, sending him tumbling backwards. My breath catches as he leaves himself open to me. I swing my sword downwards. I can see it. I can see my nodachi finding his heart, piercing it. I can almost feel the blood slippery on my fingers.

But I cannot make myself do it. And at that moment, I realize truly, what _they_ meant by giving us our light. I cannot take that away from him who has so much more to live for. Unlike him, I had cut my connections a lifetime ago. Unlike him, I was the one who had spurned the chain of events that who lead us to this fate.

I do not deserve the light.

My nodachi feels heavy in my fingers as I freeze my movement. There seems to be an everlasting silence before blood erupts from the deep tear in my chest. I fall backwards. He had not thought that I would stop, had swung his katana in a desperate act of self-defense. I know that I have lost when I cannot feel the pain that should have been coursing through my being.

Before my head can hit the ground, he catches me. I force myself to turn my head to look at him. His blue eyes are wide, the pupils dilated. His cheeks are pale, making the whisker-like scars stand out. I see the boy that he had once been and I know that I had made the right choice. He would be capable of doing what I cannot. He would prevent this from happening again.

I know that my body is disintegrating and that soon, I would have to pay for my insolence, but he would be happy. And at that moment, that is all that matters to me. I smile. A teardrop lands on my face.

"Sasuke," he chokes out. "_Sasukesasukesasukesasuke._" I hear my name being repeated in that lyrical whisper. I want to reach up, to tell him it would be over soon. To congratulate him for getting a second chance. But all I can do is gasp suddenly in pain as I feel my memories being torn from me. My time is up. He seems to feel it too, as he grips me even tighter. I can see my arms starting to fade into dust. I muster my remaining energy.

"N-naruto, p-p-protect—" I cannot finish my sentence before the blackness claims me. I vaguely hear a name being screamed. _Who is Sasuke? _I see a blurry picture of a blond-haired man with blue eyes. _Who is he? _

I see a maelstrom of broken souls. I lose myself to the tempest.

-end-


End file.
